A Mug of Cocoa
by sunshinexdaisies
Summary: Lily and James share in each others' company in their typical fashion; sass, snark, and a hint of accidental soul searching.


"James." She prodded his side.

He turned his face into the pillow and groaned.

"James, wake up," she repeated, wrapping her hand around his oblique.

He grabbed a handful of sheets and rolled away.

"James!" She laughed and scooted closer to him. "You've stolen the entire duvet."

"You bloody deserve it," he croaked. "It's like half five, Lily, go back to sleep."

"It's one in the afternoon!" When he gave an obnoxious snore in reply, she sighed, "I'm cold."

He lay unmovable for a second before turning reluctantly to face her. "Come here," he grumbled, lifting the covers.

She supressed a smile and buried her head into his bare chest. James wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer, sighing into her hair. They lay there in silence, comforted by the muted sounds of soft breathing and skin against sheets and their thudding, thudding, thudding heartbeats.

"James."

"Oh, don't start again," he groaned, ducking his head into the crook of her neck.

I'm hungry," Lily continued, pointedly ignoring his interruption.

"And I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, yeah? You like sleep. I'll do a sleeping charm for you and everything. You'll have to get my wand, though; there's no way I'm moving."

"Well, it's no wonder you're exhausted. I must've worn you out last night."

"Excuse me?" James pulled back to look at her incredulously.

"What?"

"You're seriously doubting my stamina?"

"From your desire to lay comatose on the bed? Yes."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Alright, come on," he said, standing up roughly from the bed and bending over to gather the clothes they'd strewn haphazardly across the floor.

Lily propped up on her elbow to look at him shrewdly. "James, I appreciate your drive to prove yourself, but whatever half-arsed plan you've thought up now—"

"We're going to the kitchens."

"What?" She sat up fully, pulling the sheets across her chest.

"You said you were hungry. We're going to the kitchens."

"_Now?_"

"Now. Come on!" He threw his jumper at her.

Lily pulled the thick wool off of her bedraggled hair and slid her arms through. "I don't understand how you'd prove your stamina through a stint in the kitchens. A refreshing mug of cocoa isn't exactly as trying as ten laps around the Quidditch pitch."

James paused in his search for a clean pair of trousers. "All these months with me and you still can't get a little creative?" he smirked.

She raised an eyebrow. He raised both of his.

With a gasp of realisation, Lily jumped off the bed and punched him lightly in the arm. "In front of the house elves? Thanks for that mental image!" she hissed.

"Oh, Merlin." A look of horror dawned on James's face.

"Yeah. Fantasise to that you randy twat."

He laughed off the insult easily and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Well, we'll have to save the creativity to another time."

"Right." Lily slid on loose pajama bottoms.

"Since I've got all this stamina, after all, I'll need something to use it for," he continued.

"Right." She tossed James a shirt from his dresser.

"And in front of dozens of house elves is hardly the time or place."

"Right." She leaned in front of the mirror to flatten her hair.

"So maybe we could find a right time or place."

"Right." She allowed herself to be steered to the door.

"Like in our own house."

"Right— hang on, what?"

"After we finish school," James looked down nervously and reached up to pull on the hair at the nape of his neck. "We could find our own flat. In London, or Diagon Alley, or somewhere. I don't care, as long as it's with you."

"James."

"I know it's rushed," he threw his hands in front of himself as though preparing for rejection. "I just— with the war, and the deaths, I… I want to spend… I want to… with you— shit," he cut off abruptly and laughed once, harshly.

"You want to spend your life with me?" Lily finished. She brought her palms to his face and caressed those high cheekbones, traced those curving lines along his eyes as he smiled and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers.

"Yes."

"Then yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'll spend the rest of my life with you." Her face broke into a smile so wide she felt it could split her face apart, so wide her cheeks hurt and eyes watered.

"Don't say it like that," he whispered. "It makes it sound like we don't have too long left."

She smiled at him brighter, memorising his face with her hands, and when her fingertips ran over his lips, he glanced down once before bringing his lips to hers.

They stood near the portrait hole wrapped in each other, hands, breaths, lips. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer still, sliding her lips over his in a movement as natural as breathing.

He pulled away, chuckling. "Did we just propose marriage to each other?"

"What?" She looked at him, disoriented from his kiss.

"You said, 'I'll spend the rest of my life with you.' Doesn't that sound like marriage to you?"

"What? We— I don't—" Lily stood flustered, pulling away and moving through the door.

"Hey." He caught her arm. "I'm just kidding. I know we're too young for marriage."

She looked over her shoulder to him. "Right. Yeah. Too young," she agreed, biting her lip and continuing down the corridor.

James stared at her retreating back for a moment, a glimmer of realisation dawning slowly.

"Lily!"

She turned. Hope flashed across her face. "Yes?"

He almost said it then. He opened his mouth. "What do you want from the kitchens? How about a mug of cocoa?"

She stared. Blinked. Then, she bent over and laughed. "Yeah, cocoa sound great."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **For Laleh, distinctlydottyaura of Tumblr in the Jily Secret Santa. Her request: morning afters, cuddles and kisses. I'm sorry it's short, but I hope you like it!

-Aisling


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